Port has four letters and so does left. Aft sounds like ass, so the aft is the latter end of the boat. I’ll get there. A few times i've gone port instead of starboard as I have forgotten that although my ironing board faces that way in the laundry room, that doesn't mean that its the way our motor yacht orientates itself. Hey! the fact that I am so directionaly challenged has never been a secret.
Florida is a fun place to be and with no worries of job searching, my free time was free time. I'd still have to wait a month before I received some dollars in my newly opened account with bank of America, which at that time held the minimum amount required to be of existence, but I could loosen my purse strings and let loose all together.
Living in our little neighborhood in Bahia Bar, where every seaman from each bordering vessel greets you each day, the marina workers zipping around in their carts ready to help you whenever you need it. The beach on our doorstep – just perfect for a foot dip and a thirty-minute lie down on our one hour lunch break.
Florida is a fun place to be and with no worries of job searching, my free time was free time. I'd still have to wait a month before I received some dollars in my newly opened account with bank of America, which at that time held the minimum amount required to be of existence, but I could loosen my purse strings and let loose all together.
Living in our little neighborhood in Bahia Bar, where every seaman from each bordering vessel greets you each day, the marina workers zipping around in their carts ready to help you whenever you need it. The beach on our doorstep – just perfect for a foot dip and a thirty-minute lie down on our one hour lunch break.
Cupboards full of wonderful things; chocolate hobnobs, the neverending pot of jelly beans, peanut m&m’s, Doritos, Pringles, Oreos galore, Marmite and more. The amazing salads, so far away from the lettuce, cucumber and tomato combination that I have been so used to; strawberries, grapes, nuts, cheeses a plenty and my new favourite of all time – pomegranate seeds (from this day forth no salad shall be complete without them).
I never want to eat out again as I know that the standards will be nothing compared to my own personal chef. Che, an ozzie bloke through and through; puts a smile on my face and a fullness in my belly. He’s got over the fact that I hate seafood and fish : despite trying with all his might to change my mind. I forcibly tried Mahi Mahi, scollops and then accidently tried Conch. The latter time I was tricked, I spotted little balls of what looked like corn fritters and asked the Mexican sous chef what it was, when he said Conch I expected that he was just saying Corn and when I asked if it was fish, he said no. This was part of a feast that included hoisin seaseme duck and delectable asian salads so I ate it mixed up with a bunch of delicious flavours. When I went to thank the galley (boat term for kitchen as everything has to have a different name for itself) for the delicious lunch they asked with smiles on their faces what I had eaten. My smiley face turned to utter discust as Frannie (sous chef) asked 'you know Spongebob Squarepants? I am sure my face was a picture, horrified that I had eaten just chowed down on spongebob himself, thankfully I was reassured by the fact that the conch was just an occasional special guest on the TV show.
The work is a breeze, I am completely aware that this will change dramatically when guests are on board. Some tasks are enjoyable – organizing cupboards of table decorations, adoring all of the boxes of coloured sands, beads, pearls, glass and rocks including those little glass burgers that I used to collect when I was younger, buying different colours every time I went to QD. Other work is mind numbingly boring and pointless, but the one thing that you learn very fast is never question why you are doing something, satisfy yourself with the fact that you are getting paid. Every day all the walls of the crew area must be wiped down. Most of the time the cloth comes out exactly as it has been pulled out of the cupboard, despite this; as the time goes by you find yourself tutting at how filthy the walls are, wondering how on earth normal people undoubtably go without ever wiping the walls of their house. We vacuum the crew area three times a day, first thing, after lunch and just before dinner. This is the bit that the owners don’t even see, it goes to a whole other level the other side – toothpicks, cotton buds and all.